I'm not nitpicking. Using "diabetes" instead of "type 1 diabetes" or "type 2 diabetes" really hurts people with type 1 diabetes. It's a dangerous confusion.
By default, people assume "type 2" when they hear "diabetes." They don't understand that type 1 is a completely different disease - and an absolutely terrifying one. Type 1 and type 2 are as different as day and night. It's like having runny nose vs having no nose.
This confusion harms awareness of type 1 diabetes. It undermines the urgency of finding a cure and shifts attention away from type 1.
When people are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (or, more often, when their toddlers or children are), they get furious that this confusion exists at all - and that they knew nothing about type 1 diabetes beforehand.
By default, people assume "type 2" when they hear "diabetes." They don't understand that type 1 is a completely different disease - and an absolutely terrifying one. Type 1 and type 2 are as different as day and night. It's like having runny nose vs having no nose.
This confusion harms awareness of type 1 diabetes. It undermines the urgency of finding a cure and shifts attention away from type 1.
When people are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (or, more often, when their toddlers or children are), they get furious that this confusion exists at all - and that they knew nothing about type 1 diabetes beforehand.